Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe warned China that if Beijing attacks Taiwan, Tokyo and Washington will not stand idly by. This is a message to President Xi Jinping to ease his aggressiveness against Taipei. Speaking at a forum organized by Taiwan’s think tanks almost Wednesday, Abe said: “An armed invasion of Taiwan will pose a serious threat to Japan. The emergency in Taiwan is an emergency in Japan, and therefore also an emergency in the Japan-U.S. alliance.

Beijingers, especially Xi Jinping Chairman, this should not be misunderstood.” Abe is the leader of the largest faction of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and is still a very influential figure in the party and the island nation. Former Prime Minister Abe’s statement was at the time Japan decided to upgrade and expand its cruise missile capability from the current 100-200 km capability to hit the target more than 1,000 km.

The missile developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will be deployed in the second half of this century and has multi-spectral capabilities. Essentially, Japan’s plan is to curb the increasingly fierce competition for missile research and development in the Asia-Pacific region.

In view of the legacy of Japan’s past problems, China and South Korea will feel uneasy about this missile development plan, but the fact is that Beijing is in a super-aggressive mode in the region. It has deployed medium-range ballistic missiles that can target any city in Japan and a base in Guam in the United States. Chinese propaganda media gave these missiles the nicknames “Ship Killer” and “Guam Killer”.

Although the United States has made it clear that if China wants to use force to change Taiwan’s status, it will take (unspecified) actions, but the Biden administration, with the help of the U.S. Congress, is considering plans to deploy intermediate-range ballistic missiles. The missile network on the first island chain connecting Okinawa (with US bases) with Taiwan and the Philippines.

In view of the above, Shinzo Abe’s statement should not be taken lightly, because it shows that if China continues to pursue a hegemonic agenda in the Asia-Pacific region, Tokyo will get rid of its pacifist posture (written in Article 9 of its Constitution) as far as the Indian subcontinent.

Just as the People’s Liberation Army has increased the number of medium-range missile launchers against Asia-Pacific opponents to as many as 82, it has also deployed long-range missiles in Tibet to put pressure on India and subdue Bhutan, a small Himalayan country. China has begun to build an air force base in Burang County, north of the Lipu-Lekh mountain pass, and it is only a matter of time before the deployment of military aircraft and drones at the new base.

The People’s Liberation Army has deployed two S-400 air defense systems in Tibet to deal with possible threats from the United States and Japan on the eastern coast of India.

News Source : Hindustan Times